Memorial Day Recipe Roundup

05/26/2016

Hours away from a three day weekend filled with sunshine and holiday bliss, I thought I’d wrangle up some of my favorite seasonal, vibrant, and gathering worthy recipes – all in one place. A concise list of your now go-to watermelon and tequila spiked sips (..this is a fun list), grill worthy produce and meatless munches, crunchy rainbow salads, like my plant based Spring Slaw with Pickleback Mayo Dressing, and a few (virtuously healthful) sweet tooth indulgences, I hope these favorites make their ways from my picnic blanket to yours.

Frozen Watermelon Lime Margaritas •• Made with juicy watermelon, raw honey, and a few sprigs of fresh mint, this frosty marg is the real deal ‘hard stuff’ with a healthful twist. Perfect for warm weather barbecues or your upcoming Memorial Day weekend festivities, this naturally sweetened, but not too sweet seasonal sip is light, cooling, and irresistibly fresh. A slushy you can feel good about; the best of every world.

Warm Tomato, White Bean, and Sourdough Salad•• Made with crisped sourdough, the sweetest roasted cherry tomatoes, and a subtle hint of creamy coconut, I’m most drawn to the ease of the one-skillet meal, everything into the pot, made complete with vibrant vegetables, grains, fiber and plant based protein. I serve my vegan tomato sourdough salad alongside fresh arugula, lightly dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Although you won’t find one on my plate – Andrew topped his with a runny fried egg.

Spring Slaw with Pickleback Mayo Dressing •• Reminiscent of warming sunshine, the reemergence of vibrant colors, and that hankering to just get outside and be, this simple yet divinely flavorful Spring Slaw with Pickleback Mayo Dressing is just the plant based and healthful addition to take your gathering to the next level. Made with a rainbow of shredded cabbage, carrots, radishes, and cilantro, I toss mine in a pickle juice, dijon, and vegan friendly aquafaba mayonnaise dressing.

Warm Cannellini and Browned Carrot Salad with Dill and Maple •• A very simple, texturally and aesthetically complex, and nutritionally profound plant based recipe, packed to brim with hearty, rooting, and health promoting carrots, protein and fiber rich cannellini, and warming pops of fresh dill and pure maple, this light bite has become a quick household favorite.

Sweet Spud Sliders•• A little sloppy, a lot scrumptious, what I love best about these sliders, aside from their betcha-can’t-eat-just-one propensity and hash brown-esque charm, is their affordability and the sheer quantity this recipe makes – enough sliders to keep handy in your fridge or freezer to be crisped up and munched on at your convenience, or to host an incredible gathering to feed all of your friendliest friends.

No Bake Lemonade Tea and Coconut Bars •• Perfect little bites of rich creaminess made even more magical with a hint of early summertime lemon and zest. The perfect balance of mindful and indulgent, the bar’s crust is a simple blend of rolled oats, sticky and naturally sweet medjool dates, cashews, and coconut. Atop you’ll find the most luscious, almost cheesecake-like, creamy layer, made with raw cashews, decadent coconut cream, pure maple, and fresh lemon juice.

Ginger Infused Creamy Coconut and Blueberry Pops ••A delightful blend of coconut milk, naturally sweet honey, plump blueberries and undertones of fresh ginger, these creamy popsicles are a super-simple lusciously smooth dairy-free alternative even the pickiest pop lover will enjoy. For this recipe, I used frozen blueberries, but feel free to get creative with whatever fresh or frozen berries are seasonally available near you – you could even do a mix for a red, white, and blue pop!